--- title: "KitKat: search popularity in the United States" description: "Hershey makes and sells KitKat in the US. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/kitkat-us" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # KitKat: search popularity in the United States Hershey makes and sells KitKat in the US. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Brand**: KitKat - **Owned by**: The Hershey Company - **Market**: United States - **Measured month**: Sep 2026 - **Share of Search among chocolate brands**: 11% ## Where the brand sits | Competitive set | Rank | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Chocolate brands | 5 | 11% | 110K | - [Chocolate brands](/demand/us/categories/us-chocolate-brands) ## Top chocolate brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, KitKat did not appear in any of the five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Lindt | 1st | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Ghirardelli | 2nd | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Valrhona | 3rd | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Hershey's | 4th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Hu | 4th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Tony's Chocolonely | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Snickers | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Twix | 8th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | M&M's | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Reese's | Not ranked | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | KitKat | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about chocolate brands - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best chocolate brand?": 1. Lindt, 2. Ghirardelli, 3. Valrhona, 4. Tony's Chocolonely - Asked ChatGPT "Which candy bar is the most popular in the US?": 1. Snickers, 2. Reese's, 3. Hershey's, 4. Twix - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best chocolate to give as a gift?": named none of the brands we track - Searched Google, AI Overview "chocolate brands": 1. Hershey's, 2. Lindt, 3. Ghirardelli, 4. Tony's Chocolonely, 5. Valrhona, 6. Snickers, 7. Twix - Searched Google, AI Overview "best chocolate": 1. Hu, 2. Valrhona, 3. Lindt, 4. Ghirardelli Not named in any answer: M&M's and KitKat. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 27, 2026. ## How has branded search demand for KitKat changed in the United States over the last 12 months? - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for KitKat in the United States fell from 201K to 110K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, KitKat’s share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States decreased from 13.4% to 11%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, KitKat’s share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States peaked at 25.8% in March 2026 and was lowest at 9.3% in December 2025. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, KitKat fell from 4th to 5th among chocolate brands in the United States. ## How did search popularity change for United States chocolate brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, KitKat overtook Snickers to rank 5th among chocolate brands in the United States, with 11% of the searches. - In September 2026, Hershey's gained share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States, from 18.4% to 20.1%. - In September 2026, M&M's gained share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States, from 15% to 16.5%. - In September 2026, Twix gained share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States, from 6.7% to 7.4%. - In September 2026, Reese's lost share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States, from 15% to 13.5%. - In September 2026, Ghirardelli lost share of searches among chocolate brands in the United States, from 12.2% to 11%. ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Competitive set | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Chocolate brands | 201K | 13.4% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | Chocolate brands | 135K | 11.4% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | Chocolate brands | 110K | 9.3% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | Chocolate brands | 110K | 10.6% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | Chocolate brands | 110K | 10.1% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | Chocolate brands | 301K | 25.8% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | Chocolate brands | 201K | 18.2% | 1 | | May 2026 | Chocolate brands | 110K | 10.9% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | Chocolate brands | 110K | 10.8% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | Chocolate brands | 110K | 14.4% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | Chocolate brands | 90.5K | 10.1% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | Chocolate brands | 110K | 11% | 5 | ## How are KitKat’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using KitKat’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for this branded term can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading. - “kitkat” ## Which chocolate brands compete with KitKat? - [Hershey's](/demand/us/brands/hersheys) - [M&M's](/demand/us/brands/m-and-ms): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/kitkat-us-vs-m-and-ms - [Reese's](/demand/us/brands/reeses): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/kitkat-us-vs-reeses - [Ghirardelli](/demand/us/brands/ghirardelli): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/ghirardelli-vs-kitkat-us - [Snickers](/demand/us/brands/snickers): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/kitkat-us-vs-snickers - [Twix](/demand/us/brands/twix): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/kitkat-us-vs-twix - [Tony's Chocolonely](/demand/us/brands/tonys-chocolonely) - [Hu](/demand/us/brands/hu-chocolate) - [Lindt](/demand/us/brands/lindt) - [Valrhona](/demand/us/brands/valrhona) ## Who owns KitKat? KitKat is owned by The Hershey Company. Brandwave also tracks Hershey's, LesserEvil, Reese's and Twizzlers, owned by the same company, in the United States. - [The Hershey Company](/demand/us/companies/hershey): Owns 7 tracked brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Who owns KitKat? KitKat is owned by The Hershey Company. Brandwave also tracks Hershey's, LesserEvil, Reese's and Twizzlers, owned by the same company, in the United States. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "KitKat: search popularity in the United States". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/kitkat-us This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/kitkat-us. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.